Ride It Right is the only initiative in Northern Ireland that focuses – through a partnership of organizations that have the same common goal – on reducing motorcycle casualties.
One of Ride It Right’s goals is to involve riders in First Aid Courses that specifically cater for motorcyclists.
This goal is starting to evolve into reality, with discussions now ongoing with representatives from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, to introduce “First Aid For Riders” in Northern Ireland with elements that are relative for riders.
But why First Aid Courses?
How will these reduce motorcycle casualties?
In September 2009 motorcycle research was commissioned by the Department of the Environment’s Road Safety Division (RSD). It was one of a number of research and statistical investigations into road safety in Northern Ireland (NI) being carried out by RSD intending to inform the development of the new Road Safety Strategy and assist future policy planning.
A report – Motorcycle casualties in NI Statistical Analysis, Causes and Influencing Factors – pdf 4mb – was subsequently published in December 2009.
The report identified through a 10-year analysis of motorcycle collision and casualty data (PSNI 1998-2007):
The biggest proportion of KSI casualties were aged 17-24 (31%), followed by 25-34 (26.6%).
69.4% of all motorcycle casualties were riding motorcycles with engine sizes of 125cc or above.
92% of all casualties were male with a high proportion of male casualties killed or seriously injured and a higher proportion of female casualties slightly injured.
The analysis indicated that in total, 4,416 separate collisions involving a motorcycle were recorded in the period between 1st April 1998 and 31st March 2008. In total, there were 5,522 casualties accounted for across the ten-year period of which 1,689 were killed or seriously injured (KSI). The estimated cost of casualties from motorcycle collisions to the Northern Ireland economy over the 10-year study period is just over £619M.
According to PSNI statistics, between 2009 and 2010 16 motorcyclists were killed, 124 were seriously injured and 262 were slightly injured. Motorcyclists killed made up 15.8% of all road deaths and 4.2% of all road casualties. Motorcycles (including scooters and mopeds) represent 3% of road vehicles in Northern Ireland.
Crash Scene Senario
Imagine while you are out riding you come across a motorcycle accident or any collision with a vehicle, pedestrian or cyclist, would you be able to administer first aid positively?
Would knowledge obtained from a tailored course help you to manage the initial scene to give casualties necessary basic life support whilst waiting for emergency services to arrive?
Would a life saving course delivered with an understanding of motorcycling, that instructs you to*
- Understand Trauma and the mechanism of injury
- Understand how to protect the scene and snatch rescue
- Demonstrate Basic Life Support
- Understand the correct procedures for spinal management
- Demonstrate the correct procedure for removing a crash helmet
be something that you have been looking for and didn’t know where to go?
Ride It Right’s, Trevor Baird says, “I was lucky enough to complete a First Aid Course designed for motorcyclists a few years ago and lucky enough not to have to use the skills obtained. However some of the tips that stick in my mind are things like – using the velcro on motorcycle jackets to help immoblise a casualty e.g. from the cuff to the collar. Another tip that stayed in my mind was if you come across a crash on a rural road and there appears to be one casualty that is the rider. The lesson was that while attending the casualty, to shout out loud “is there anybody there can anybody else hear me”? The reason is that there may be the pillion rider or somebody else injured out of sight, in a field or behind a wall.”
At Ride It Right we think that a First Aid Course for motorcyclists will be beneficial not just for riders but also for other road crash casualties, even if not directly involved in rendering First Aid, but to be able to comfort/reassure conscious casualties and to help in giving confidence to stay calm at a crash scene.
We also hope to link up with Motorbike Crash Cards for Northern Ireland (MCCNI) which aims to introduce a CRASH Card scheme to Northern Ireland. This scheme aims to encourage motorcyclists to place a card inside their crash helmet as a medic alert. This card would hold valuable information to aid treatment from the ambulance service in case of an accident. The card would also give helpful advice if a rider comes across a road traffic collision, by helping the emergency services to get the right resources to the scene as quickly as possible.
Who’s Interested
That’s the basis of what we are looking at, however it is a bit of a chicken and egg situation.
We need to know what interest there is from you the riders before we can say how many courses there will be; where these can be run; the length of the course; the cost of the course; whether they will be accredited First Aid Courses and so on, although we hope to offer the course for individual riders or as a group or as a club.
If you are interested you can fill in an initial query form or just want information visit the Ride It Right website – Click Here
Information
Please Note: The mention of any organisation or individual in this article does not in any way indicate that it/they endorse First Aid For Riders in Northern Ireland. First Aid For Riders in Northern Ireland is in the devlopement stage at the moment.
Motorbike Crash Cards for Northern Ireland (MCCNI) – www.motorbikecrashcardsforni.weebly.com
* Elements of First Bike on Scene for information – Click Here
